


Ring of Fire, Field of Diamonds

by TehLastUnicron



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I’m not crying you’re crying, Johnny Cash songs, M/M, background Sheith - Freeform, but a little sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-05 04:46:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16803910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TehLastUnicron/pseuds/TehLastUnicron
Summary: Sometimes he sang along, sometimes he just hummed. But that song- when it started to play, he turned those beautiful brown eyes to her and smiled, soft, sweet, but with an intensity that Krolia would never have otherwise known was there.The taste of love is sweetWhen hearts like ours meetI fell for you like a childOh, but the fire went wild(Mother and son memories of the man they called husband and dad, set to the music of the man in black)





	1. Ring of Fire (Krolia)

“Hey Mom? Mom, are you ok?”

Krolia looked up sharply in her son’s direction, giving her head a forceful shake and putting a smile on her face. Keith stood a few feet away, bag of potatoes in hand. Shiro was a few feet beyond that, rummaging through a bin of onions for just the right one….

“I’m fine, son,” she replied softly, after clearing her throat and swallowing hard. On the PA system above, the song- THAT song, THEIR song- continued to play, the deep and distinctive voice of Johnny Cash:

_Love is a burning thing_

_And it makes a fiery ring_

_Bound by wild desire_

_I fell into a ring of fire_

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Keith stepped closer, a frown creasing his face. Krolia nodded even more emphatically and smiled more brightly.

“I really am.” _He would want me to be… and I am. I really am._

Memories, so many sweet memories. This had been their song, after all. He had been a fan of the gravelly voiced singer, had listened to his music everywhere. The one about the prison while he worked on his old pickup and the one about the ghost riders as he threw hay to the cows.

Sometimes he sang along, sometimes he just hummed. But that song- when it started to play, he turned those beautiful brown eyes to her and smiled, soft, sweet, but with an intensity that Krolia would never have otherwise known was there.

_The taste of love is sweet_

_When hearts like ours meet_

_I fell for you like a child_

_Oh, but the fire went wild_

That song started playing more and more, at times as he grabbed her hand and spun around the living room of their little old farmhouse, as he prepared dinner for them (he sang into his spatula and wooden spoon like they were microphones, she’d always loved that)… or that time they’d gone out for a moonlit drive, parked the old pickup in a secluded spot and crawled into the bed under the stars, whispering and giggling like a pair of youngsters. Those whispers and giggles, soundtracked by THAT song, had led to Keith.

_I fell into a burnin’ ring of fire_

_I went down, down, down_

_And the flames went higher_

Krolia reached up and touched the chain around her neck, from which hung a simple silver band with a turquoise inlay. It was one of her most prized possessions (along with a tiny pair of shoes she’d carefully stowed away in her pack when she’d had to leave the old farmhouse, she still had those too) and no matter where she’d gone or what she’d been doing, the chain with the ring hung around her neck, the ring close to her heart. He’d given it to her after all, slipped it on her finger to THAT song. “Maybe we cant quite marry the way people normally do here, Krols,” he’d said softly, kissing her fingertips, “but at least we can be married in our hearts.” And they were. Even though she’d had to leave them, she never forgot, and for the rest of her life, she’d never forget… and every sweet moment, every happy memory of her first and strongest love, would be set to the strains of THAT song.

_And it burns, burns, burns_

_The ring of fire_

Krolia looked up at her son again. Shiro had come to stand by him, hand on his shoulder as usual, and they were both watching her intently. Even though her eyes were a little misty she smiled, nodded and said softly, “Just that song,” tilting her head upward to indicate the last notes playing on the PA.

“Ohhhhhhhh,” Keith said softly. “Yeah. He listened to that one a lot. I always wondered why… it was your song, wasn’t it? Yours and his.”

Krolia smiled and replied softly, “Yes, yes it was. We had so many good times….” her voice trailed off and she touched the ring on the chain around her neck.

For a few moments, they stood quietly, deep in thought (including Shiro, who had heard so many of the stories from Keith and wished he’d gotten the chance to know the amazing man he’d heard so much about). The next song started up on the PA and Keith blinked, eyes widening as the deep voice of the man in black crooned:

_Field of diamonds in the sky_

_Worlds go whirling right on by_

_Are you wondering who am I?_

_Field of diamonds in the sky_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith’s dad was a Johnny Cash fan sorry I don’t make the rules  
> Keith is too  
> Ring of Fire was his and Krolia’s song  
> Damn I wish papa hadn’t died 😭😭😭😭 but he deserves more love I mean he raised Keith and Keith’s awesome  
> If Krolia hadn’t had to leave they’d probably have like 9 more beautiful badass kids and be that cute couple that’s been in love forever like my mom and dad (my mom and dad only have three but yeah they’re still as much in love as they were when they were young and I feel like Krolia and Heath would be too)  
> I’m not crying you’re crying  
> Part two will be Keith’s memories of his dad


	2. Field Of Diamonds (Keith)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pop was always with him, in his memories, in the stories he’d told and things he’d taught him, in the unconditional love he’d shown him... even in the simple lyrics of a much loved song-
> 
> Yes, Pop was always with him. Just like he promised. 
> 
> Field of diamonds in the sky  
> Silent beauty shining high  
> Are you tears the angels cry  
> Field of diamonds in the sky

_Am I just a star in some crown?_

_Or someone’s life sun going down, down down?_

Keith glanced to his mother, then Shiro standing next to him. Both were looking at him with small, soft smiles... “Oh,” he said quietly. “Yeah....”

_Field of diamonds in the sky_

_Silent beauty shining high_

_Are you tears the angels cry?_

_Field of diamonds in the sky_

He’d told Shiro the stories before. Krolia too, during those nights at camp on the back of the space whale.He’d told them both about the bonfires (carefully constructed in the fire pit, with a water hose, shovel and bucket nearby of course- “safety first,” Pop had said), blackened marshmallows and bug bites.

He’d told them about throwing all his nine year old weight behind pushing or pulling the gearshift in the old pickup every time Pop had called out “shift” as he’d pushed the clutch in, the man in black crooning about teaching the weeping willow to cry from the speakers on the dashboard.

He’d told them about handing Pop tools as he changed a belt on the tractor or spark plugs on the truck, howling along with the deep voice on the radio- “GHOOOOOOST RIDERS IIIIIIIIN THE SKYYYYYYY!” (Keith still remembered the twinkle in the older man’s eye as he’d told him, “Buddy, I need to get you a bucket to carry a tune in.” He’d never understood that until he grew up, but Pop was right, as much as he enjoyed music he was painfully tone deaf.)

He’d told them about tiptoeing downstairs to look at his Christmas presents after he thought he’d heard Santa, only to find his father stuffing a cookie into his mouth as he carefully tied a bow to the dirt bike sitting in front of the tree. Even now, Keith couldn’t help but laugh as he pictured Pop’s surprised expression.

_ Field of diamonds in the sky  _

_ Like the night you pass me by  _

_ I could touch you if I tried  _

_ Field of diamonds in the sky  _

His favorite stories to tell, though, were of the nights they’d camped outside in the yard, sleeping bags side by side, looking up at the stars together and singing THAT song. The sky really had looked like a vast dark field scattered with sparkling diamonds out there in the desert... Pop had pointed out some of the better-known stars, making up his own little stories about them (Keith had heard the mythological versions when he got older. He actually preferred his father’s stories)

There had been times when he’d caught Pop looking at the night sky with an expression his younger self couldn’t read, but as an adult he knew was... longing. He remembered, too, the same look and a wistful tone in Pop’s voice the few times he’d dared to ask about his mom.

“When you look up at the stars, think of her,” Pop had told him softly, on one of those nights under the diamond sky. “She’ll be back, I promise. She will. And in the meanwhile, I’ll always be here for you.”

Over time, Keith had stopped believing that his mother would return, and when his father was suddenly taken from him, he’d grown bitter and angry... but he should have known better. “He always kept his word, didn’t he?” Krolia had commented when Keith told her about it. “He was a good man. I just wish we’d had more time,” she had shaken her head vigorously after that, something Keith now knew was an attempt to hide the fact that she was becoming emotional (and also something that he never before realized that he did too). “At least he’ll always be in my heart, and he gave me you. I have so much to be thankful for.”

Keith did too. He really did. He looked up one more time at the ceiling, then back to the people standing by him... people he thought he’d lost, but had returned safely to him, and he smiled one more time as he thought of one more person that he loved and thought he’d lost- but not really.

Pop was always with him, in his memories, in the stories he’d told and things he’d taught him, in the unconditional love he’d shown him... even in the simple lyrics of a much loved song-

Yes, Pop was always with him. Just like he promised.

_Field of diamonds in the sky_

_Silent beauty shining high_

_Are you tears the angels cry?_

_Field of diamonds in the sky_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not crying you’re crying  
> I wish Papa had gotten to be around longer shvzjbsj  
> If we remember people we loved they’re never really gone tho  
> Keith and Shiro probably named one of their kids after him  
> Ok I cried a lot writing this


End file.
